Colorado coach Tad Boyle argues a call with officials during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against UCLA on Friday, Jan 2, 2015, in Boulder. (Jeremy Papasso, Daily Camera)

Following the 64-57 loss Sunday at Georgia, Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle has preached to his team about concentration, concentration, concentration.

“We’ve yet to put a 40-minute game together,” Boyle said in advance of Wednesday’s 7 p.m. home game against Colorado State (8-0). “That’s a challenge for this group. (Maintaining) concentration is hard to do.”

Colorado (5-2) tied the game in Athens, Ga., at 22-22 on a 3-point shot by junior forward Xavier Johnson. But Georgia closed out the first half with a 12-0 run. The Bulldogs began the second half by scoring the first two baskets. That lengthened CU’s scoring drought to about 7 minutes.

As released by the school, the probable starters for Colorado Friday night in the season opener against Drexel is the same Buffs lineup that finished the 2013-14 season after Spencer Dinwiddie went down with a knee injury in January.

Collier has missed substantial practice time with an ankle issue and his contribution may be delayed.

For those who haven’t heard, 6-6 sophomore guard George King is redshirting.

Colorado, 23-12 last season, showed up in some preseason top-25 lists in magazines or on websites, but the Buffs are generally projected to fall just outside the top 25. In the Pac-12 preseason media poll, CU was voted to finish third, behind Arizona and No. 2 Utah.

Few things I’ll be looking for tonight from CU:

* The new offense. It’s supposed to be a faster tempo and will spread out the court. Coach Tad Boyle describes it as “less predictable” than the style the Buffs have played.

* Outside shooting. Everybody expects it to be improved. It had better be. Colorado hit 31.8 percent from 3-point range last season while Buffs opponents connected on 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. That’s a significant number of points the Buffs had to make up during a game.

* Miller. He adds a big body to CU’s front line which will especially help in certain matchups against burly teams. Remember the blowout loss to Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament last spring? I want to see if Miller is more than a banger and can also be a threat offensively.

Tipoff at the Coors Events Center is at 6 p.m. The Pac-12 Network will have the telecast.

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The Colorado Buffaloes will take on DePaul in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 22 in Honolulu.

The Buffaloes will play the Blue Demons at 2:30 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. The game will be televised on ESPNU. The eight-team tournament, which takes place Dec. 22-25, is entering its sixth year.

It will be the second-ever match between the two teams and the first in 74 years when CU won 50-37 in the NIT semifinal in 1940.

Other teams in the tournament include George Washington, Hawaii, Loyola Marymount, Ohio, Nebraska and Wichita State.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Speaking in the Pittsburgh locker room following Thursday’s 77-48 victory over Colorado in a South Regional second-round game, Panthers senior forward-center Talib Zanna said he thought the Buffaloes had quit after falling behind early.

Pittsburgh scored the first 13 points of the game and extended its lead to 20-3 and 30-7.

“In the first five minutes, I think they (Buffs) already gave up,” Zanna said. “We were just trying to keep attacking and going to the glass.

BOULDER — Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle said Friday that Buffs sophomore guard Xavier Talton again will be in the starting lineup Sunday night for the 6 p.m. home game against Washington.

Talton, a former Sterling High School star, made his first college start Wednesday night in the 68-63 win over visiting Washington State. Talton got in early foul trouble, however, and played just 16 minutes. He took just one shot and failed to score, but did record three assists and two rebounds.

As the Colorado men’s basketball program awaits a scheduled Monday MRI on Spencer Dinwiddie’s injured left knee, thoughts turn to how the Buffaloes can fill the void if Dinwiddie is out for the season or at least for an extended period of time.

It won’t be easy. As a 6-foot-6 point guard, Dinwiddie is a unique talent and CU’s best player. His size and skill set present a difficult matchup for opponents. He tops the team in scoring (14.7) and assists (3.8), while also contributing 3.1 rebounds per game as a perimeter player.

Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle does not have to be reminded about the luxury he has with an experienced ball-handler coming off the bench.

That’s 6-foot-2 sophomore Xavier Talton, the former Sterling High School standout, who is averaging 14.6 minutes per game this season. That’s double his average playing time (7.3 minutes) as a freshman.

Boyle said he has “much more” trust in using Talton this season. Talton scored 8 points in 11 minutes of playing time Sunday in the 100-91 victory over then No. 10 Oregon, handing the Ducks their first loss of the season.

During my interview with Boyle for the project, I asked him to comment on each of his CU commitments. Unfortunately, the Denver Post print edition did not have space for those comments, so here they are:

TAD BOYLE ON HIS SIGNEES:

2009-10 RECRUITING CYCLE

BEN MILLS, 7-foot, 225 pounds, senior center, Hartland (Wis.) Arrowhead HS, 33 games, no starts — “Ben’s legacy at Colorado might very well be that he’s the best teammate of anybody I’ve ever coached,” Boyle said. “I’m not sure you can compliment a kid more than when you say that.”

BOULDER — Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle summed up the success of his team’s five-game European Tour in a way that spoke volumes:

“We were talking as a staff, and we agreed that after going on this trip it would be hard to fathom where we’d be without it,” Boyle said. “With so many new faces in the program, this gave us a great jump start to the season.”

Colorado went 2-3 on the tour, losing to two French teams, splitting two games in Belgium and winning a game in Amsterdam.

The opponents were professional teams, and included veteran players in their late 20’s and older.

So much for the catchy nickname “The Tad Five” regarding the incoming recruiting class signed by Colorado coach Tad Boyle.

After signing five players during the November signing period, CU added a sixth signee — 6-foot-3 point guard Eli Stalzer of famed Mater Dei High School in Orange County, Calif. — today, the first day of the spring signing period.

Stalzer averaged just 5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a senior but played on a talented team that won the California big-school state championship and featured early CU signee Xavier Johnson, a high-flying, 6-6 forward. Also, Stalzer was slowed by a mid-season illness.

But, with the departure of seniors Nate Tomlinson and Carlon Brown, Buffs coaches decided the roster was in need of another freshman ballhandler to join Talton.

“I’m very excited to be a part of this program,” Stalzer said in the CU news release. “It was really fun watching CU in the (Pac-12) playoffs and the (NCAA) Tournament. I think with the coaching staff, the talent on the team and the class coming in, CU has the ability to make it to the Final Four and I want to be part of it.”

Boyle spotted Stalzer while recruiting Johnson.

“Eli is a player our staff kept coming back to in our evaluation process,” Boyle said. “He is the epitome of what we consider a ‘complete player’ to be. His ability to pass, dribble and shoot, as well as his ability to defend mulitiple positions, will allow him to be a valuable player for the Buffs.”

According to the Colorado sports information office, Stalzer and Johnson are the first pair of signees from a CU recruiting class to hail from the same high school since Jay Humphries and Vince Kelley arrived for the 1980-81 season from Inglewood High School in Los Angeles. That duo couldn’t have worked out much better: Humphries is still CU’s all-time assists leader and ranks 14th in career scoring; Kelley ranks 19th among all-time CU scorers.

Colorado may not be stopping there. Michigan transfer Evan Smotrycz, a 6-9, 235-pound sophomore forward, tweeted that his final three choices are Maryland, Providence and Colorado, and that he intends to take official visits to all three. Smotrycz must sit out next season per NCAA transfer rules and then will have two remaining years of eligibility.

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BOULDER – You may have to go back to the 1970s to find the last class of Colorado men’s basketball signees that included three in-state players – before this one.

After gaining the signatures of 6-foot-9 Josh Scott of Lewis-Palmer HS (Monument), 6-8 Wesley Gordon of Colorado Springs Sierra and 6-1 Xavier Talton of Sterling HS, Colorado coach Tad Boyle was asked if this signaled an upward trend in local talent or it is an aberration.

In this state, unfortunately, some years will be better than others, he said.

“That’s cyclical,” said Boyle, a Greeley native.

But Boyle added that anytime the state of Colorado produces a player that can help his program “we’re going to try like heck to not let him get out of the state. These three kids we got this year can help us win championships, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Word is, the current class of high school sophomores is, like the seniors, an exceptionally strong group in Colorado.

Boyle went out of state to land 6-6 Xavier Johnson of Orange County, Calif., and 6-7 Chris Jenkins of Detroit.

No matter where CU recruiters go, “the key is to not get bad players,” Boyle said. “If you only get good players, that’s how you improve as a team.”

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A closer look at the five Colorado basketball signings announced officially Wednesday by Buffs coach Tad Boyle:

WESLEY GORDON, 6-8, forward, Colorado Springs Sierra HS
Averaged almost 21 points as a junior last season. As a sophomore, helped Sierra defeat Pueblo East in the Coors Events Center for the 2010 4A state title. Rated the nation’s 23rd best power forward prospect by Scout.com as a three-star prospect but considered to have big-time potential. Extended an oral commitment to CU on March 6, three days after his friend, Josh Scott. Has power forward’s mentality on the boards.

CHRIS JENKINS, 6-7, forward, University of Detroit Jesuit HS
Three-star recruit who CU coaches believe has a big upside with the skill set to be a terrific player in the Pac-12, despite being under-recruited on a national level. Averaged 17 points and almost eight rebounds per game last season as a junior and is known for his versatility. Can guard any of several positions on the court. Shot 40 percent from 3-point range as a junior and 81 percent from the foul line.
XAVIER JOHNSON, 6-6 forward, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, Calif.
National four-star, top-100 prospect, ranked No. 83 by Rivals.com and No. 86 by ESPN. Helped Mater Dei win 32 games and a CIF state championship last spring. Invited to play in the prestigious Top 100 NBA camp. Leaper who can fill a highlight reel with an assortment of reverse dunks and finger rolls. Has the most college-ready body among CU’s recruiting class.
JOSH SCOTT, 6-9, power forward, Lewis-Palmer HS (Monument)
National, four-star blue-chipper ranked No. 46 nationally for all positions by ESPN.com and is No. 65 on Rivals.com’s list. Committed to CU in March. Averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds last season as a junior and then jumped up national rankings with a tremendous summer. Named to prestigious NBA Top 100 camp. At 215 pounds, he needs to gain weight and strength but is regarded as having huge upside.

XAVIER TALTON, 6-1 point guard, Sterling HS
Named Class 4A player of the year last spring as a junior after leading Sterling to 27 victories and the state championship. Averaged 21.3 points in Sterling’s final three playoff games and was named tournament MVP. Coming from a small-school basketball background will be an adjustment, but Colorado coaches love his athleticism and point guard mentality to make his teammates better. CU coaches believe he was under-recruited because he played in a lower classification.

Check back Thursday at denverpost.com/cu for a rundown of the three CU women’s basketball signings announced by coach Linda Lappe.

Scott, a 6-10 senior center at Lewis-Palmer HS in Colorado Springs, is ranked as the No. 47 overall player. CU also has a commitment from another inside player in Colorado Springs, 6-7 Wesley Gordon of Sierra. Gordon likely will make some national top 200 lists.

A lot can happen until until the early signing in November and the team rankings are sure to change. Colorado could cement a top-20 class (or better) by signing what is believed to be its top remaining target: 6-4 shooting guard Alex Caruso of College Station, Texas.

Talton led the Tigers to the Colorado Class 4A state title on Saturday, a 57-38 victory over Windsor at CU’s Coors Events Center.

Talton, a guard, averaged 21.3 points during Sterling’s final three playoff games. He was named Class 4A tournament most valuable player by The Denver Post.

Current high school juniors can sign with an NCAA school in November during the early signing period, just prior to the start of their senior seasons. Scott and Gordon said they will sign with Colorado in November.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.